WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:09.240 Fed up with the everyday grind, tired out from the summer heat, want to get away from 00:09.240 --> 00:10.240 it all? 00:10.240 --> 00:13.240 We offer you... 00:13.240 --> 00:16.240 Escape! 00:16.240 --> 00:26.280 Escape, designed to free you from the four walls of today for a half hour of high adventure! 00:26.280 --> 00:32.720 You are prisoner in the magnificent mountain retreat of the richest man in the world, while 00:32.720 --> 00:47.320 haunting you, terrifying you, is the knowledge that the ultimate escape will be death. 00:47.320 --> 00:53.120 Tonight we escape to an isolated Montana plateau and the strange secret of a stranger family, 00:53.120 --> 01:06.600 as F. Scott Fitzgerald told it in his fantastic story, The Diamond as Big as the Ritz. 01:06.600 --> 01:09.580 I've been going to St. Midas Prep School for a couple of years. 01:09.580 --> 01:11.960 This was my second summer vacation. 01:11.960 --> 01:15.760 I'd met this fellow, Percy Washington, during the winter and got to be pretty good friends 01:15.760 --> 01:16.760 with him. 01:16.760 --> 01:20.760 Only I didn't know about his family or where he came from or anything like that. 01:20.760 --> 01:23.320 Of course I knew he must be rich. 01:23.320 --> 01:26.920 All the fellows at St. Midas came from wealthy families. 01:26.920 --> 01:31.520 So when he invited me to spend the summer at his home out west someplace, it was okay 01:31.520 --> 01:32.520 by me. 01:32.520 --> 01:37.160 We'd been on the train overnight when he first mentioned it. 01:37.160 --> 01:39.840 I don't even remember now what led up to it. 01:39.840 --> 01:44.120 We'd been talking about first one thing and then another. 01:44.120 --> 01:47.560 Um, Percy, exactly where is your home? 01:47.560 --> 01:49.080 I mean, you bought the train tickets and all that. 01:49.080 --> 01:51.520 It's in Montana, sort of a little place. 01:51.520 --> 01:52.520 Montana. 01:52.520 --> 01:53.520 Oh yeah. 01:53.520 --> 01:54.520 Pretty wild country, isn't it? 01:54.520 --> 01:55.520 Hmm, some of it is. 01:55.520 --> 01:58.640 Now, you take Hades, Missouri, where I come from. 01:58.640 --> 02:01.000 It's been settled for 150 years. 02:01.000 --> 02:02.960 One of the first towns on the Mississippi River. 02:02.960 --> 02:03.960 Indeed. 02:03.960 --> 02:04.960 Oh sure. 02:04.960 --> 02:05.960 That's very interesting. 02:05.960 --> 02:10.080 I sure do appreciate you're not making jokes about it the way some of the fellows do when 02:10.080 --> 02:12.800 I say I come from Hades. 02:12.800 --> 02:14.200 Why you know my father's orientation. 02:14.200 --> 02:15.200 John. 02:15.200 --> 02:19.320 Do you know that my father is the richest man in the world? 02:19.320 --> 02:20.320 Oh? 02:20.320 --> 02:22.200 By far the richest. 02:22.200 --> 02:26.200 I read about a man that paid taxes on a five million dollar income. 02:26.200 --> 02:27.200 Small fry. 02:27.200 --> 02:32.640 If my father paid tax on his real income, he'd disrupt the whole economy of the United 02:32.640 --> 02:33.640 States. 02:33.640 --> 02:34.640 No kidding. 02:34.640 --> 02:36.880 Oh, I like rich people. 02:36.880 --> 02:38.960 The richer a fellow is, the better I like him. 02:38.960 --> 02:42.760 My father could buy out all of the millionaires in the country and not even know he had done 02:42.760 --> 02:43.760 it. 02:43.760 --> 02:44.760 Is that a fact? 02:44.760 --> 02:45.760 No. 02:45.760 --> 02:48.720 I visited the Schlitzer Murphys once. 02:48.720 --> 02:49.720 They're plenty rich. 02:49.720 --> 02:54.480 Why, their daughter Vivian's got rubies as big as hen's eggs and sapphires that glow 02:54.480 --> 02:55.480 like headlamps. 02:55.480 --> 02:56.960 I like jewels. 02:56.960 --> 02:57.960 Always have. 02:57.960 --> 02:59.880 I used to collect them instead of stamps. 02:59.880 --> 03:01.040 And diamonds. 03:01.040 --> 03:03.360 The Schlitzer Murphys had diamonds as big as walnuts. 03:03.360 --> 03:04.800 Oh, that's nothing. 03:04.800 --> 03:05.800 Huh? 03:05.800 --> 03:07.520 Nothing at all. 03:07.520 --> 03:10.520 My father has a diamond as big as the Ritz. 03:10.520 --> 03:11.520 Oh. 03:11.520 --> 03:13.720 Please, I'm not joking. 03:13.720 --> 03:14.920 What? 03:14.920 --> 03:18.760 But you mean as big as the Ritz Carlton Hotel? 03:18.760 --> 03:19.880 Exactly. 03:19.880 --> 03:28.640 My father has a diamond as big as the Ritz. 03:28.640 --> 03:32.960 We got off the train about dusk at a little whistle stop called Fish Montana. 03:32.960 --> 03:35.580 There wasn't anything there, not even a station. 03:35.580 --> 03:40.960 Just a broken down old buggy and four or five sheep herders lounging beside the track. 03:40.960 --> 03:43.880 And I suppose wondering who we were. 03:43.880 --> 03:48.600 Anyway, Percy and I climbed into the buggy and without saying a word, the driver cracked 03:48.600 --> 03:53.560 his whip and off we went. 03:53.560 --> 03:54.960 I don't know how far we traveled. 03:54.960 --> 04:00.560 We didn't seem to be following any road though and after an hour or so it got dark. 04:00.560 --> 04:05.160 But the driver kept right on, never saying a word. 04:05.160 --> 04:09.640 I hope you'll pardon this inconvenience, John, but we have to take certain precautions, you 04:09.640 --> 04:10.640 know. 04:10.640 --> 04:11.640 It's all right. 04:11.640 --> 04:13.800 Anyway, we're almost there. 04:13.800 --> 04:15.040 You're home, you mean? 04:15.040 --> 04:18.640 Oh no, to the place where we consider it safe to transfer. 04:18.640 --> 04:19.640 Transfer? 04:19.640 --> 04:20.920 What do you mean? 04:20.920 --> 04:22.600 Oh, there's the signal now. 04:22.600 --> 04:23.600 Headlights? 04:23.600 --> 04:27.720 Well, up the horse, Absom. 04:27.720 --> 04:28.720 Here we are. 04:28.720 --> 04:31.560 An automobile, but how? 04:31.560 --> 04:32.560 There's no road. 04:32.560 --> 04:34.520 Oh, this car is special built. 04:34.520 --> 04:35.520 Doesn't need roads. 04:35.520 --> 04:38.680 Welcome home, master. 04:38.680 --> 04:41.720 Good evening, Giggsom. 04:41.720 --> 04:43.480 Come on, John, let's get in. 04:43.480 --> 04:47.040 Gosh, is this car what they've made out of, silver? 04:47.040 --> 04:48.040 No, platinum. 04:48.040 --> 04:49.840 Those are emeralds in the hubcaps. 04:49.840 --> 04:52.720 And the upholstering, it's fur. 04:52.720 --> 04:53.720 Mink. 04:53.720 --> 04:55.160 You're ready, master? 04:55.160 --> 04:57.160 Anytime, Giggsom. 04:57.160 --> 05:01.600 You've probably noticed the exceptional brightness of the headlamps. 05:01.600 --> 05:03.600 The lenses are cut from diamonds. 05:03.600 --> 05:06.560 Boy, what a car. 05:06.560 --> 05:12.360 So John Keep, we use it for a station wagon. 05:12.360 --> 05:19.440 Hey, why did we stop, Percy? 05:19.440 --> 05:20.800 This is just a deserted canyon. 05:20.800 --> 05:23.400 Oh, we're not there yet, John. 05:23.400 --> 05:26.080 Wait, you'll see. 05:26.080 --> 05:29.520 They sent down the hooks while we were coming from the station. 05:29.520 --> 05:30.520 The hooks? 05:30.520 --> 05:33.160 Yes, to attach to the wheels, you know. 05:33.160 --> 05:36.160 That's what Giggsom's doing now. 05:36.160 --> 05:40.160 Incidentally, Giggsom will look after you during our visit. 05:40.160 --> 05:41.160 Look after me? 05:41.160 --> 05:43.000 Your personal valet. 05:43.000 --> 05:47.760 Of course, there'll be other slaves available too, whenever you need them. 05:47.760 --> 05:50.000 Do you have a lot of slaves? 05:50.000 --> 05:53.560 Three or four hundred, I suppose. 05:53.560 --> 05:54.560 Already, Giggsom? 05:54.560 --> 05:57.560 Yes, master. 05:57.560 --> 05:59.560 Hello? 05:59.560 --> 06:04.680 Pussed away. 06:04.680 --> 06:07.000 We're leaving the ground. 06:07.000 --> 06:10.080 Yes, there's a hoist up there on top of the cliff. 06:10.080 --> 06:12.080 Has cables about a quarter of a mile long. 06:12.080 --> 06:13.080 But what for? 06:13.080 --> 06:15.200 Oh, it's the only way in. 06:15.200 --> 06:20.120 Imagine hoisting an automobile a quarter of a mile up the side of a cliff. 06:20.120 --> 06:21.840 It's really nothing. 06:21.840 --> 06:26.720 As you may have guessed, John, this is not going to be like anything you ever saw before 06:26.720 --> 06:35.000 in your life. 06:35.000 --> 06:37.400 Well John, there it is. 06:37.400 --> 06:40.240 That's your home? 06:40.240 --> 06:41.240 It's magnificent. 06:41.240 --> 06:42.240 Palatial. 06:42.240 --> 06:44.440 That's not bad. 06:44.440 --> 06:45.440 How big is it? 06:45.440 --> 06:48.280 I think it's around a hundred and forty rooms. 06:48.280 --> 06:49.720 The father may remember exactly. 06:49.720 --> 06:54.560 Then of course, there are other buildings, slaves quarters and things. 06:54.560 --> 06:56.960 Why hasn't anyone ever found out about it? 06:56.960 --> 06:57.960 This place, I mean. 06:57.960 --> 07:01.600 Well, for one thing, it's the only five square miles in the United States that have never 07:01.600 --> 07:02.600 been surveyed. 07:02.600 --> 07:03.600 Why not? 07:03.600 --> 07:07.760 Oh, things were arranged. 07:07.760 --> 07:09.840 I don't see how that's possible. 07:09.840 --> 07:11.840 Believe me, it hasn't been easy. 07:11.840 --> 07:15.920 I understand grandfather had to bribe three government bureaus, a vice president and half 07:15.920 --> 07:18.800 of Congress wants to keep the place off the maps. 07:18.800 --> 07:21.360 But somebody surely stumbled onto it. 07:21.360 --> 07:22.960 Prospectors, people like that. 07:22.960 --> 07:24.880 Oh yes, that happens occasionally. 07:24.880 --> 07:29.240 Then of course, we have to arrange things. 07:29.240 --> 07:30.240 You mean? 07:30.240 --> 07:31.240 Not always. 07:31.240 --> 07:35.840 Usually we just take them prisoner and keep them, like the aviators. 07:35.840 --> 07:37.080 Planes come here? 07:37.080 --> 07:39.040 Once in a while they fly over. 07:39.040 --> 07:41.440 Of course they never get away. 07:41.440 --> 07:44.960 We have nine anti-aircraft batteries around the hills. 07:44.960 --> 07:46.720 You shoot them down? 07:46.720 --> 07:49.000 Oh yes, great sport. 07:49.000 --> 07:51.480 It does upset mother a bit. 07:51.480 --> 07:55.800 And there's always a chance one might get away. 07:55.800 --> 07:57.640 That's father's greatest worry. 07:57.640 --> 08:00.480 This place is this whole thing. 08:00.480 --> 08:01.480 It's fantastic. 08:01.480 --> 08:06.000 Oh come now John, I picked you for a fellow with his feet on the ground. 08:06.000 --> 08:09.960 And you haven't seen anything yet, you know. 08:09.960 --> 08:15.880 This is only the beginning. 08:15.880 --> 08:18.600 And it was only the beginning. 08:18.600 --> 08:22.600 We crossed the acres of Lawn and entered the great chateau. 08:22.600 --> 08:26.720 And from that moment on, vision upon vision tumbled together in a gigantic kaleidoscope 08:26.720 --> 08:29.120 of color, symmetry and exquisite harmony. 08:29.120 --> 08:35.140 There were corridors lined with gleaming crystals lit by lamps cut from emerald and great halls 08:35.140 --> 08:37.760 carpeted with chinchilla fur and ermine. 08:37.760 --> 08:44.920 And there was a white haired man, pink faced and very pleasant, who was Percy's father. 08:44.920 --> 08:51.200 And Percy's mother, a lovely lady with dark hair piled high on her head like a fragile 08:51.200 --> 08:53.240 queen. 08:53.240 --> 08:59.040 Soft music came from hidden places, perfumes filled the air, exotic foods and wines more 08:59.040 --> 09:01.760 rare than pearls. 09:01.760 --> 09:05.480 I thought there could be no more nor greater wonders. 09:05.480 --> 09:07.520 I was wrong. 09:07.520 --> 09:09.920 There were many more and greater ones. 09:09.920 --> 09:20.280 And one of them I discovered the next morning in the garden. 09:20.280 --> 09:21.280 Hello there. 09:21.280 --> 09:27.400 Oh, you're lovely. 09:27.400 --> 09:29.360 My name is Kissmine. 09:29.360 --> 09:30.360 You're John Unger. 09:30.360 --> 09:32.760 You're a friend of my brother. 09:32.760 --> 09:33.760 You from the East? 09:33.760 --> 09:34.760 Oh, no. 09:34.760 --> 09:37.200 At least, not exactly. 09:37.200 --> 09:38.840 I'm from Hades. 09:38.840 --> 09:39.840 Oh. 09:39.840 --> 09:44.520 Would you like to sit down here on the grass? 09:44.520 --> 09:48.280 Why, yes, sure I would. 09:48.280 --> 09:50.160 I'm going east to school this fall. 09:50.160 --> 09:52.320 Do you suppose I'll like it? 09:52.320 --> 09:54.640 I think so. 09:54.640 --> 09:56.960 Of course, it'll be different from all this. 09:56.960 --> 09:59.040 That's what Jasmine says. 09:59.040 --> 10:00.800 She's in the East now. 10:00.800 --> 10:03.080 I've never been outside. 10:03.080 --> 10:04.080 Who is Jasmine? 10:04.080 --> 10:05.080 My sister. 10:05.080 --> 10:08.040 She's older than I am. 10:08.040 --> 10:14.320 I hope you won't be offended, but you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. 10:14.320 --> 10:16.040 Yes, I know. 10:16.040 --> 10:17.040 What? 10:17.040 --> 10:18.760 I surprised you, didn't I? 10:18.760 --> 10:23.280 A year ago, I would have said thank you, but Father says it's very necessary to learn to 10:23.280 --> 10:24.280 take things for granted. 10:24.280 --> 10:27.720 So now I just take it for granted that I'm beautiful. 10:27.720 --> 10:28.960 You see? 10:28.960 --> 10:30.760 You're pretty sophisticated, aren't you? 10:30.760 --> 10:32.800 Oh, I'm not at all. 10:32.800 --> 10:36.400 I believe girls should enjoy their youth in a wholesome sort of way. 10:36.400 --> 10:38.000 Oh, so do I. 10:38.000 --> 10:40.760 I like you, John. 10:40.760 --> 10:47.040 I wish you'd spend some of your time with me this summer, not all with Percy. 10:47.040 --> 10:50.440 I will, Kiss Me, I will. 10:50.440 --> 10:52.840 You may be in love with me if you'd like to. 10:52.840 --> 10:56.120 I'm absolutely fresh ground, you know. 10:56.120 --> 10:58.240 I am in love with you. 10:58.240 --> 10:59.920 Of course, we'll have to meet secretly. 10:59.920 --> 11:02.880 My parents wouldn't permit it if they knew. 11:02.880 --> 11:05.360 Then that's what we'll do. 11:05.360 --> 11:07.000 I have to go now. 11:07.000 --> 11:09.520 I'm supposed to be with Mother at 11. 11:09.520 --> 11:13.400 Aren't you going to ask me for a kiss? 11:13.400 --> 11:17.040 Jasmine says boys always do nowadays. 11:17.040 --> 11:19.480 Some of them do, but not me. 11:19.480 --> 11:32.760 We don't expect nice girls to do that sort of thing in Hades. 11:32.760 --> 11:34.840 It was a funny thing. 11:34.840 --> 11:39.920 Percy's family were polite, friendly, always smiling. 11:39.920 --> 11:44.200 And yet all the time I had a feeling that some terrible and golden mystery lay hidden 11:44.200 --> 11:46.320 just around the corner. 11:46.320 --> 11:53.960 A few days after I had met Kiss Me, Percy remarked casually that an unusual event had 11:53.960 --> 11:54.960 occurred. 11:54.960 --> 11:58.520 A man had escaped from the cage. 11:58.520 --> 12:00.040 I didn't know what he meant then. 12:00.040 --> 12:06.600 But the next morning I was walking with Percy's father on the grounds of the estate. 12:06.600 --> 12:11.880 Mr. Washington, Percy said something about a man escaping from the cage. 12:11.880 --> 12:13.880 I didn't quite get it. 12:13.880 --> 12:17.080 The cage, well, perhaps you'd like to see it. 12:17.080 --> 12:19.760 This might prove interesting just as a novelty. 12:19.760 --> 12:21.400 It's over there. 12:21.400 --> 12:26.440 These trees are 60 feet tall and they have roses blooming all over them. 12:26.440 --> 12:29.960 Yes, yes, it's a rather interesting development by a Swiss botanist. 12:29.960 --> 12:31.960 These are the only ones in the world. 12:31.960 --> 12:34.200 I'll be darned. 12:34.200 --> 12:37.000 Although I suppose you'll see them all over the country in a few years. 12:37.000 --> 12:38.760 No, these are the only ones. 12:38.760 --> 12:39.760 That was arranged. 12:39.760 --> 12:42.760 Ah, here we are, the cage. 12:42.760 --> 12:47.320 It's a pit dug in the ground. 12:47.320 --> 12:48.320 A grating on top. 12:48.320 --> 12:53.440 Oh, yes, it's not really a cage except in a certain sense. 12:53.440 --> 12:56.760 Well, boys, how are you getting along? 12:56.760 --> 13:02.560 How many men are there down there? 13:02.560 --> 13:06.160 About 50, as I recall. 13:06.160 --> 13:07.160 Who are they? 13:07.160 --> 13:13.000 Oh, aviators we've shot down, wandering prospectors, men of that sort. 13:13.000 --> 13:15.480 But why are they kept there? 13:15.480 --> 13:19.400 And they've all had the common misfortune of having discovered El Dorado. 13:19.400 --> 13:26.000 Gentlemen, gentlemen, gentlemen, I am sure you would like to know that your companion 13:26.000 --> 13:30.640 who departed without my permission has been taken care of. 13:30.640 --> 13:37.840 Yes, yes, yes, he was shot by some of my agents in 14 different places. 13:37.840 --> 13:41.800 Golf, Mr. Unger? 13:41.800 --> 13:44.600 They found him then? 13:44.600 --> 13:45.600 The man who got away? 13:45.600 --> 13:49.520 Well, those places were towns, my agents who overeek. 13:49.520 --> 13:52.120 None of them could offer a positive identification. 13:52.120 --> 13:55.680 I am afraid the man may still be at large. 13:55.680 --> 13:59.360 Ah, you see, it's not all utopia here. 13:59.360 --> 14:02.680 No, we do have our difficulties. 14:02.680 --> 14:05.480 Isn't it a little unnecessary, holding them like that? 14:05.480 --> 14:06.480 Not at all. 14:06.480 --> 14:08.360 It's the only way to keep this place hidden. 14:08.360 --> 14:11.480 Yes, I guess that must be important. 14:11.480 --> 14:14.960 Oh, Percy was telling me something on the train. 14:14.960 --> 14:20.040 I thought he was kidding, but he said you had a diamond as big as the Ritz Carlton hotel. 14:20.040 --> 14:21.040 Oh, yes. 14:21.040 --> 14:22.040 Yes, indeed. 14:22.040 --> 14:24.760 As a matter of fact, it's much bigger than the Ritz. 14:24.760 --> 14:27.760 Much bigger. 14:27.760 --> 14:33.600 Well, summer went on. 14:33.600 --> 14:36.760 I was more and more in love with Kismine. 14:36.760 --> 14:41.760 She was priceless, exquisite, like no other girl in the world. 14:41.760 --> 14:47.000 After a couple of weeks, I kissed her, of course, and I was really in love for the first 14:47.000 --> 14:48.000 time. 14:48.000 --> 14:53.240 I should have known, should have put two and two together when Percy's father showed me 14:53.240 --> 14:55.600 the cage, but I didn't. 14:55.600 --> 15:00.560 Until one morning late in the summer, I slipped off with Kismine to the Rose Gardens. 15:00.560 --> 15:04.120 Kismine, I think we ought to elope. 15:04.120 --> 15:05.920 Oh, I don't know. 15:05.920 --> 15:08.920 It would be much nicer to be married here. 15:08.920 --> 15:12.560 Then it'd be more romantic to elope. 15:12.560 --> 15:20.240 Yes, all the Sunday supplements would write stories about fabulous heiress elopes. 15:20.240 --> 15:25.440 I knew an heiress from Omaha once, but I don't think you'd like her. 15:25.440 --> 15:27.520 She visited my sister here. 15:27.520 --> 15:30.960 Oh, you've had other guests then? 15:30.960 --> 15:34.760 Well, yes, we've had a few. 15:34.760 --> 15:37.360 Wasn't your father ever afraid they might talk outside? 15:37.360 --> 15:40.800 Well, to some extent. 15:40.800 --> 15:43.120 Let's talk about something more pleasant. 15:43.120 --> 15:45.120 What's so unpleasant about it? 15:45.120 --> 15:49.760 Well, I grew quite fond of some of them. 15:49.760 --> 15:52.840 You mean they told? 15:52.840 --> 15:53.840 And your father? 15:53.840 --> 15:55.560 They didn't get a chance to. 15:55.560 --> 15:56.560 Father had to be sure. 15:56.560 --> 15:57.560 But that's murder. 15:57.560 --> 15:58.560 What else could we do? 15:58.560 --> 16:03.720 In the cage, they'd have been a constant reproach to us. 16:03.720 --> 16:07.280 And father does it so nicely. 16:07.280 --> 16:11.160 They're always drugged in their sleep and we tell their families they died of scarlet 16:11.160 --> 16:12.640 fever and bute. 16:12.640 --> 16:16.440 I'm not sure how that affects the statistics there. 16:16.440 --> 16:18.040 Of all the horrible. 16:18.040 --> 16:19.040 It is not. 16:19.040 --> 16:22.720 The draw would be terribly boring here without ever having anybody. 16:22.720 --> 16:28.560 My father and mother have sacrificed some of their best friends. 16:28.560 --> 16:31.240 You're no better than... 16:31.240 --> 16:35.440 That's what they planned to do with me then. 16:35.440 --> 16:38.040 Don't you try to forget it. 16:38.040 --> 16:41.400 Be nice to me until you're put away. 16:41.400 --> 16:45.440 It's only for two or three weeks. 16:45.440 --> 16:50.240 You'd go on this way kissing, talking about love when you know I'm not much better than 16:50.240 --> 16:51.240 a corpse. 16:51.240 --> 16:52.240 You're not a corpse. 16:52.240 --> 16:53.240 You're not. 16:53.240 --> 16:54.880 I won't have you saying I kissed a corpse. 16:54.880 --> 16:55.880 That wasn't what I said. 16:55.880 --> 16:56.880 You did too. 16:56.880 --> 16:57.880 I did not. 16:57.880 --> 16:58.880 You said that... 16:58.880 --> 16:59.880 Now just a moment. 16:59.880 --> 17:00.880 Father. 17:00.880 --> 17:03.880 Who kissed a corpse? 17:03.880 --> 17:05.360 Nobody. 17:05.360 --> 17:06.360 We were just joking. 17:06.360 --> 17:08.520 Now you two haven't any business here anyway. 17:08.520 --> 17:09.520 Now kiss mine. 17:09.520 --> 17:10.520 Go read. 17:10.520 --> 17:11.520 Go play golf. 17:11.520 --> 17:15.120 Now don't you let me find you here when I come back. 17:15.120 --> 17:16.120 Yes, father. 17:16.120 --> 17:17.120 Good day, children. 17:17.120 --> 17:18.120 You see. 17:18.120 --> 17:19.120 Now he knows you've spoiled everything. 17:19.120 --> 17:20.120 You don't really love me. 17:20.120 --> 17:21.120 Kiss mine. 17:21.120 --> 17:22.120 Oh, what's the use? 17:22.120 --> 17:33.520 What if you are rich and have this place? 17:33.520 --> 17:36.160 Why would it be so terrible if anyone found out about it? 17:36.160 --> 17:39.520 Why, it's on account of the diamond, of course. 17:39.520 --> 17:40.520 Diamond? 17:40.520 --> 17:42.520 What is this diamond all of you talk about? 17:42.520 --> 17:43.520 Well, it's... 17:43.520 --> 17:46.080 You'd better ask Percy. 17:46.080 --> 17:48.640 I'm always getting things mixed up. 17:48.640 --> 17:50.300 I will ask him. 17:50.300 --> 17:51.300 And another thing. 17:51.300 --> 17:53.800 I'm getting out of here tonight if I have to dig through the mountains. 17:53.800 --> 17:54.800 I'm going back east. 17:54.800 --> 17:55.800 Take me with you? 17:55.800 --> 17:56.800 No. 17:56.800 --> 17:57.800 Why not? 17:57.800 --> 17:58.800 Your father wouldn't permit it. 17:58.800 --> 18:01.360 If you won't take me, I'll go tell him I want to marry you. 18:01.360 --> 18:02.760 You can't do that. 18:02.760 --> 18:03.760 He bumped me off this afternoon. 18:03.760 --> 18:04.760 Oh, please take me, darling. 18:04.760 --> 18:05.760 And we'll be terribly poor and very happy. 18:05.760 --> 18:06.760 And I'll cook things for you. 18:06.760 --> 18:07.760 Herbs and berries and stuff. 18:07.760 --> 18:08.760 Would that be fun? 18:08.760 --> 18:09.760 Oh, you will, won't you, John? 18:09.760 --> 18:30.760 Well, my head was really in a whirl. 18:30.760 --> 18:32.960 That whole thing was fantastic. 18:32.960 --> 18:35.000 And so was the family. 18:35.000 --> 18:36.560 Even Kismine. 18:36.560 --> 18:40.200 I couldn't think of anything to do, but I rushed to see Percy. 18:40.200 --> 18:42.880 But John, why didn't you ask me before? 18:42.880 --> 18:44.880 Because I thought you were kidding all the time. 18:44.880 --> 18:45.880 I know. 18:45.880 --> 18:49.040 You wouldn't believe me if I'd told you. 18:49.040 --> 18:51.080 I'm ready to believe anything now. 18:51.080 --> 18:56.180 Well, it was my grandfather who started the whole thing, purely by accident. 18:56.180 --> 19:00.600 He came out here from Virginia after the war between the states and stumbled onto it. 19:00.600 --> 19:01.600 Into what? 19:01.600 --> 19:03.000 The diamond, of course. 19:03.000 --> 19:05.640 That's what made all this possible. 19:05.640 --> 19:08.840 Grandfather spent two years going around to different cities of the world, selling bits 19:08.840 --> 19:09.840 of it. 19:09.840 --> 19:12.520 Then he started building this place. 19:12.520 --> 19:14.600 He put his money into jewels. 19:14.600 --> 19:18.160 But father found that radium took up much less space. 19:18.160 --> 19:19.880 But, but why the secrecy? 19:19.880 --> 19:22.640 Oh, it just wouldn't do if anyone found out. 19:22.640 --> 19:24.720 Ruin the whole economy of the world. 19:24.720 --> 19:26.400 The thing's too big. 19:26.400 --> 19:29.280 This has been going on for three generations. 19:29.280 --> 19:35.800 Well, and the cage and this thing of inviting friends. 19:35.800 --> 19:37.080 Oh yes. 19:37.080 --> 19:40.760 You see, there wasn't really any danger before airplanes. 19:40.760 --> 19:42.860 They are what worry us. 19:42.860 --> 19:45.680 And you knew when you invited me here what would happen. 19:45.680 --> 19:47.200 Please, John. 19:47.200 --> 19:49.800 I thought you'd be more sensible about it. 19:49.800 --> 19:53.200 After all, you can see my position. 19:53.200 --> 19:55.120 Yeah. 19:55.120 --> 19:56.120 Where is it? 19:56.120 --> 19:59.360 Where do you keep this diamond that's caused so cockeyed much trouble? 19:59.360 --> 20:00.840 Oh, I thought you had guessed. 20:00.840 --> 20:03.520 You've noticed the hill the chateau stands on. 20:03.520 --> 20:04.520 Yes. 20:04.520 --> 20:06.200 It contains a cubic mile. 20:06.200 --> 20:13.840 And except for a thin covering of dirt, it's one big solid diamond. 20:13.840 --> 20:21.640 It was nearly midnight. 20:21.640 --> 20:24.680 I didn't know what awakened me, but all of a sudden I was staring across the patches 20:24.680 --> 20:29.480 of moonlight, spotting the ermine carpet of my bedroom, staring at three slaves I'd never 20:29.480 --> 20:30.600 seen before. 20:30.600 --> 20:37.840 They just slipped inside the door and stood there, each with a vicious length of shiny 20:37.840 --> 20:40.360 copper wire. 20:40.360 --> 20:44.360 The official executioners. 20:44.360 --> 20:47.440 I lay there on the bed watching them counting heartbeats, not daring to move, not daring 20:47.440 --> 20:48.440 not to move. 20:48.440 --> 20:49.440 They didn't know I'd wakened. 20:49.440 --> 20:50.440 They began edging across the room. 20:50.440 --> 20:51.440 Come on. 20:51.440 --> 20:52.440 All three of you. 20:52.440 --> 20:56.480 There's no time now for this. 20:56.480 --> 20:58.160 All hell's broken loose. 20:58.160 --> 20:59.160 Hurry. 20:59.160 --> 21:01.560 I took one long, deep breath. 21:01.560 --> 21:02.560 The first one had several moments. 21:02.560 --> 21:06.600 Then I was out of the bed in an instant, throwing on my clothes and dashing through the long 21:06.600 --> 21:10.160 crystal corridor to Kismine's room. 21:10.160 --> 21:14.400 Kismine, are you awake? 21:14.400 --> 21:16.640 John, over here by the window. 21:16.640 --> 21:18.360 So they woke you up too. 21:18.360 --> 21:20.360 If you mean three of your father's slaves, you- 21:20.360 --> 21:21.360 No, airplanes. 21:21.360 --> 21:22.360 Airplanes. 21:22.360 --> 21:23.360 So that's what it is. 21:23.360 --> 21:24.360 At least a dozen. 21:24.360 --> 21:26.360 I saw them crossing against the moon. 21:26.360 --> 21:29.680 Look, they're circling way over there. 21:29.680 --> 21:30.680 You think they're here on purpose? 21:30.680 --> 21:31.680 Oh, yes. 21:31.680 --> 21:33.680 They dropped warnings to father. 21:33.680 --> 21:36.920 It's that man who got away from the cage, you know. 21:36.920 --> 21:37.920 Good for him. 21:37.920 --> 21:38.920 Yes, wasn't he clever? 21:38.920 --> 21:41.800 I think we'll open up on the many second now. 21:41.800 --> 21:42.800 Open up? 21:42.800 --> 21:43.800 Yes, our anti-aircraft. 21:43.800 --> 21:44.800 Oh, this is going to be thrilling. 21:44.800 --> 21:45.800 Thrilling? 21:45.800 --> 21:46.800 Oh, look, they're in range now. 21:46.800 --> 21:47.800 Bravo! 21:47.800 --> 21:48.800 Bravo! 21:48.800 --> 21:52.600 Kismine, get away from that window. 21:52.600 --> 21:55.600 Oh, my heavens. 21:55.600 --> 22:00.600 Do you see that? 22:00.600 --> 22:03.040 Yes, and we've got to get out of here. 22:03.040 --> 22:04.040 Can't you understand? 22:04.040 --> 22:07.000 There's a little grove of trees across the side of the mountains. 22:07.000 --> 22:08.480 We always keep one of the cars there. 22:08.480 --> 22:10.520 We'll have a nice view of everything. 22:10.520 --> 22:11.520 A nice view? 22:11.520 --> 22:13.520 Kismine, you don't seem to understand. 22:13.520 --> 22:14.520 They mean business. 22:14.520 --> 22:16.520 They're out to finish off you and your whole family. 22:16.520 --> 22:18.520 But it all seems so silly. 22:18.520 --> 22:25.520 When you come right down to it, they've never even met us. 22:25.520 --> 22:30.520 What time is it, John? 22:30.520 --> 22:35.520 Is it morning yet? 22:35.520 --> 22:40.520 I don't know. 22:40.520 --> 22:44.520 I've lost my watch. 22:44.520 --> 22:48.520 It seems to be getting lighter, all right? 22:48.520 --> 22:51.520 It's quieter, too. 22:51.520 --> 22:52.520 Your guns. 22:52.520 --> 22:55.520 They're knocked out. 22:55.520 --> 22:57.520 Every last one of them. 22:57.520 --> 23:00.520 It won't be long now. 23:00.520 --> 23:02.520 It seems such a shame. 23:02.520 --> 23:07.520 The family put so much work on the place. 23:07.520 --> 23:10.520 Everything's always been so pleasant. 23:10.520 --> 23:11.520 Yeah. 23:11.520 --> 23:14.520 You better get some sleep, Kismine. 23:14.520 --> 23:17.520 I'm going to walk down the path a little ways. 23:17.520 --> 23:19.520 You'll come back. 23:19.520 --> 23:20.520 Yes, Kismine. 23:20.520 --> 23:24.520 I'll come back. 23:24.520 --> 23:29.520 At the edge of the wood, I stopped and looked out across the valley 23:29.520 --> 23:33.520 toward the wrecked chateau standing on its diamond hill. 23:33.520 --> 23:39.520 And then suddenly three men appeared bearing a heavy burden among them. 23:39.520 --> 23:42.520 It was Mr. Washington and two of the slaves. 23:42.520 --> 23:43.520 All right. 23:43.520 --> 23:44.520 This is far enough. 23:44.520 --> 23:45.520 We'll stop here. 23:45.520 --> 23:48.520 Now, hoist it up and hold it there. 23:48.520 --> 23:49.520 Both together now. 23:49.520 --> 23:50.520 Easy now. 23:50.520 --> 23:53.520 The burden they held up to the heavens was an immense diamond. 23:53.520 --> 23:56.520 Now, you out there. 23:56.520 --> 23:57.520 You there. 23:57.520 --> 23:59.520 I can see no one else anywhere in view. 23:59.520 --> 24:01.520 You, you, above there. 24:01.520 --> 24:04.520 I want you to understand. 24:04.520 --> 24:06.520 This is only a sample. 24:06.520 --> 24:12.520 I'll give you a thousand cutters pine, second pedestals of platinum. 24:12.520 --> 24:19.520 And I'll build you a temple a thousand feet high, cast of solid gold. 24:19.520 --> 24:24.520 And on the top of it, I'll put one diamond a hundred feet across. 24:24.520 --> 24:25.520 A thought began to dawn on me. 24:25.520 --> 24:26.520 I couldn't believe it. 24:26.520 --> 24:31.520 I'll letter your name in the temple in emeralds. 24:31.520 --> 24:36.520 And I'll see that the whole world worships at its base. 24:36.520 --> 24:42.520 All you have to do, all you have to do is make everything the way it was before. 24:42.520 --> 24:54.520 Mr. Washington was offering a bribe to God. 24:54.520 --> 24:57.520 He stopped talking and waited. 24:57.520 --> 25:03.520 And then out of the silent heavens blossomed the white puffs of parachutes. 25:03.520 --> 25:08.520 The man who had tried to bribe God looked up and saw them. 25:08.520 --> 25:11.520 He became old in an instant. 25:11.520 --> 25:16.520 Turning with lowered head, walked down the path toward the chateau. 25:16.520 --> 25:19.520 With sudden premonition, I whirled and headed for the spot where I'd left Kismine. 25:19.520 --> 25:26.520 Kismine in the car that needed no roads. 25:26.520 --> 25:28.520 Haven't we gone far enough, John? 25:28.520 --> 25:29.520 I suppose. 25:29.520 --> 25:32.520 We're ten miles from the chateau. 25:32.520 --> 25:34.520 It's all so hectic. 25:34.520 --> 25:37.520 Just rushing about and losing sleep and everything. 25:37.520 --> 25:38.520 Hand me those field glasses. 25:38.520 --> 25:40.520 Here they are. 25:40.520 --> 25:42.520 You see anything? 25:42.520 --> 25:44.520 No. 25:44.520 --> 25:46.520 Oh, wait. 25:46.520 --> 25:48.520 What is it? 25:48.520 --> 25:50.520 It's your father and mother. 25:50.520 --> 25:52.520 And Percy. 25:52.520 --> 25:55.520 They're going into a tunnel down below the chateau. 25:55.520 --> 25:57.520 They've got an underground escape. 25:57.520 --> 25:59.520 No. 25:59.520 --> 26:01.520 No, I remember now. 26:01.520 --> 26:03.520 The mountain's wired. 26:03.520 --> 26:06.520 Some kind of an atom bomb. 26:06.520 --> 26:07.520 Atom? 26:07.520 --> 26:08.520 Atomic bomb? 26:08.520 --> 26:09.520 That's it. 26:09.520 --> 26:11.520 Father's had it for years. 26:11.520 --> 26:13.520 He always said it would disintegrate the whole works. 26:13.520 --> 26:16.520 Diamond and all. 26:16.520 --> 26:19.520 Of course, he only regarded it as a last resort. 26:19.520 --> 26:23.520 So he'd rather have it like that. 26:23.520 --> 26:26.520 They're all inside the tunnel now. 26:26.520 --> 26:29.520 I can see the troopers moving in. 26:29.520 --> 26:34.520 I don't suppose there's really anything to be done about it now. 26:34.520 --> 26:55.520 And there wasn't. 26:55.520 --> 27:00.520 I keep thinking about things the way they were. 27:00.520 --> 27:03.520 It was all so pleasant. 27:03.520 --> 27:08.520 I don't suppose it'll ever be exactly like that again. 27:08.520 --> 27:11.520 Not ever, Kismine. 27:11.520 --> 27:15.520 And maybe it never was. 27:15.520 --> 27:18.520 Youth is a time for dreaming. 27:18.520 --> 27:20.520 Dreams die too. 27:20.520 --> 27:23.520 I'll probably have to take in washing. 27:23.520 --> 27:27.520 But of course, we'll be very happy. 27:27.520 --> 27:29.520 What will we do, John? 27:29.520 --> 27:31.520 Do? 27:31.520 --> 27:34.520 We can love a while. 27:34.520 --> 27:36.520 Underneath the stars. 27:36.520 --> 27:40.520 That's a form of divine drunkenness we can all try. 27:40.520 --> 27:45.520 And then there may be other diamonds in the world, who knows? 27:45.520 --> 27:52.520 And even though it's a shabby gift, there's always disillusion. 27:52.520 --> 27:56.520 Turn up your collar, Kismine, before you catch pneumonia. 27:56.520 --> 28:03.520 Let's go to sleep. 28:03.520 --> 28:06.520 Escape is produced and directed by Norman MacDonald. 28:06.520 --> 28:15.520 Tonight we have brought you The Diamond, As Big As The Ritz, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, adapted for radio by Les Crutchfield, with editorial supervision by John Dunkle. 28:15.520 --> 28:21.520 In tonight's cast were Sam Edwards, Peggy Webber, Danny Merrill, John Danaer, and Don Diamond. 28:21.520 --> 28:27.520 Special music by Ivan Dittmarz. 28:27.520 --> 28:28.520 Next week. 28:28.520 --> 28:33.520 Each time you fall asleep, you find yourself dreaming the same strange dream. 28:33.520 --> 28:37.520 One in which you live out your life in the distant future. 28:37.520 --> 28:41.520 And always a hideous fate moves closer to you. 28:41.520 --> 28:53.520 A fate from which you cannot escape. 28:53.520 --> 28:58.520 Next week we escape with another great story by one of the world's greatest authors. 28:58.520 --> 29:10.520 Good night then until this same time next week when once again we offer you Escape. 29:10.520 --> 29:27.520 This is Roy Rowan speaking for CBS, the Columbia Broadcasting System.